My life had become quiet and routine. With classes finished now, I occasionally went to the university library to research for my thesis, photocopying relevant materials to study at home.

Then, while studying, I’d end up playing on the computer.

My cousin was in the depths of preparing for his college entrance exam, and seeing me so idle every day made him incredibly jealous. I told him, “I’ll be working soon, with no winter or summer breaks. After your exam, you’ll have four years to enjoy yourself. How comfortable is that?”

My cousin scoffed, “Sis, I’m going to work hard in college. Dad has already completed the initial capital accumulation for me. I want to become a big entrepreneur. You think everyone’s like you, without ambition?”

“Hey, actually, when I was your age, I had ambition too. Why else would I have fought so hard to get into a prestigious university? But now, I’ve reached enlightenment. Jiang Rui, you’d better never reach this enlightenment. In the future, you can work your mind and body like an ox and horse to make money, and your sister will depend on you for support.”

My cousin made a pained expression: “If you can’t get married, I’ll support you.”

“What’s this, Jiang Rui? Are you secretly in love with me?”

My cousin exploded in anger: “Nie Xiguang, what kind of logic is that?”

The phone rang downstairs, and I ran down to answer it, grinning.

“Hello.”

“Xiguang, it’s me.”

I paused. “Oh, Si Rong—is something wrong?”

“Can’t I call you without something being wrong? Are you too important now?”

I laughed a couple of times, somewhat forced. My mood had been gradually improving, but hearing her voice felt like dark clouds gathering around me again.

That day in the dorm, not one person spoke up for me. True, they had no obligation to do so, and true, perhaps our friendship wasn’t deep enough for them to trust me unconditionally.

But it still left me cold.

“Xiguang.” Si Rong spoke after a while, “Xiao Feng came back from Shanghai yesterday. She said she was the one who answered that call. That day she had already reached the station but realized she’d forgotten her ID card. When she went back to the dorm to get it, she happened to answer the phone. She even remembered she should leave a note, but she was in such a hurry to leave that she completely forgot. Ah, this crazy girl made a mistake. Although Rong Rong isn’t holding it against her anymore, she’s treating us to make up for it. When are you coming back? We can make her pay.”

Si Rong’s voice was unusually light and lively. I suppose she was trying to create an atmosphere of “this incident is over, it’s no big deal,” but this casual treatment only made me feel worse. I could only say stiffly, “Oh, I see. I won’t be coming back. I’m preparing for my thesis defense at my uncle’s house.”

Si Rong said, “You can prepare here just the same, and we can all discuss how to handle the professors together.”

“I’d rather not. It’s too hot in the dorm. My uncle’s house has air conditioning.”

I was lying—it wasn’t even May yet, how could it be hot?

Si Rong didn’t say anything more.

Later, Xiao Feng and A Fen successively sent messages about getting together for meals, but I made excuses to decline them all. I had suddenly become very lazy.

It seemed like nothing mattered anymore.

After all…

Graduation was coming soon. Things that weren’t over would be over anyway.

Around the twentieth of April, my thesis advisor called, asking me to come get his feedback on my revisions. So early in the morning, I rode my cousin’s bicycle to A University.

Perhaps it wasn’t an auspicious day for traveling. On the way, trying to avoid a stray dog, I took a nasty fall. There wasn’t time to go back and change clothes if I wanted to make my appointment with my advisor, so I had to show up at A University’s Business School looking disheveled.

Finding my advisor’s office, I knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

I nervously pushed open the office door, and the first person I saw was Zhuang Xu.

He was standing next to my advisor. Hearing the door open, he looked up at me, his gaze lingering on me for a moment before quickly looking away.

I froze in the doorway. Why was he here?

My thesis advisor was the deputy dean of our college, an old man famous for his strictness. He glanced at me, pushed up his glasses, and said, “Wait over there for a moment.” Then he continued talking with Zhuang Xu.

From their conversation, they were also discussing thesis matters. So Zhuang Xu and I had been assigned the same advisor? Although we weren’t in the same department, we were both in the Business School, so getting the same advisor was possible, though the chances were small.

If such a coincidence had happened before, I probably would have been excited. Now I just felt utterly unlucky, especially knowing I was here to be scolded. I just hoped he would finish and leave quickly.

But after a few minutes, although Zhuang Xu said he would leave first, the professor stopped him. “Don’t rush off. I’ll talk to you in detail later. Let me say a few words to this student first.”

Then the professor called me over. “You’re Nie Xiguang, right?”

I nodded.

The advisor pulled out my thesis and stared at it without speaking. The office was silent for several minutes, making me nervous.

Finally, the professor spoke. “Among all my students, you were the last to submit your first draft.”

“Professor, I…” I had submitted my first draft too late, and I knew before coming that the professor would question me about this. I had prepared excuses in advance, but with Zhuang Xu standing there, I stammered, unable to voice any of my prepared explanations.

“And it’s also the worst in structure and quality, completely pieced together. This definitely won’t pass. I won’t let a thesis like this go to defense. You should give up this defense and prepare well for next year.”

Although I’d heard before that this professor terrorized his students every year, hearing it firsthand, his severe criticism still stunned me. Plus, having such an embarrassing moment witnessed by Zhuang Xu left me feeling both ashamed and angry, truly wishing I could dig a hole and crawl into it. I couldn’t bring myself to beg or plead with him in front of Zhuang Xu.

At this moment, Zhuang Xu, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. “Professor.”

I looked up at him doubtfully, thinking, now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, you’re not going to kick me while I’m down, are you?

“Professor, perhaps her second draft will be better. Theses are improved through revision.”

He was… speaking up for me?

He was helping me—I should have been happy, but somehow it only made me angry instead.

What did he think he was doing? I didn’t want him speaking up for me!

I blurted out, “Professor, I’ll defend next year.”

Both Zhuang Xu and the professor were stunned by this. Zhuang Xu gave me a complicated look, stepped back, and didn’t speak again.

The professor became angry, banging on the desk. “Look at this—a few words of criticism and you throw a tantrum. Students these days, each batch worse than the last. With scissors and glue, how can you write a decent thesis? And such big tempers too.”

The professor shook his head and sighed, putting another thesis in front of me. “Look here, same topic, why can someone else write something thorough and detailed, with original insights, and they’re almost ready for their final draft while you’re still on your first?”

I glanced up and saw just the two characters “Zhuang Xu” on that thesis. Right, Zhuang Xu and I had the same thesis topic. I had followed his choice back then, before many things had happened, thinking that choosing the same topic might create some opportunities for myself.

Of course, the advisor wouldn’t let me look at someone else’s thesis. He took it back and tossed mine to me. “I’ve written my comments on it. I have nothing more to say. Revise it accordingly. If your second draft isn’t better, I absolutely won’t let you defend.”

Being dismissed by the advisor, I felt temporary relief—at least I still had a chance and wouldn’t have to delay graduation. After waiting a while for the elevator to come, I stepped in and pressed the close button when I vaguely heard someone call out to wait.

Reflexively, I pressed the open button, but by the time I remembered whose voice it was, it was too late.

Zhuang Xu stepped into the elevator.

Then his long arm reached past me to press the first floor button.

The elevator descended.

The elevator was so quiet I could hear my breathing. I stared unblinkingly at the numbers on the LCD. For the first time, I felt the school elevator was ridiculously slow—it seemed like a very long time had passed, yet we were only halfway down.

“Perhaps I can help you.”

When I heard the voice, I thought I was hearing things. I hesitated before looking at Zhuang Xu.

There were only two of us in the elevator, so he must have been talking to me, but help me? Help me with what?

Perhaps seeing my confusion, his gaze fell on the paper in my hand, and he said briefly: “The thesis.”

My face immediately turned red. Just now, the advisor had completely devalued my thesis, and he had heard every word.

Embarrassed again.

But I couldn’t say anything. By then, the elevator had reached the ground floor, and I quickly walked out without looking back.